Shocking Knight Power and the Fellow Apostle
The new apostle. "What kind of summon is that…!" Kim Myeong-suk, famous for her ever-present smile, could no longer maintain it. Her unique ability had been effortlessly torn apart, and the flying sword aura was powerful enough to chill even her battle-hardened nerves.
'If not for the emergency shield, that could've been dangerous….'
A shield that deployed in emergencies when a dangerous attack threatened its owner. It was a special ability of a Tower artifact that had saved her life several times in the past. Without a shield strong enough to block an A-rank hunter's attack, she would've suffered a major injury from that sword aura.
Cold sweat dripped down her face. Since becoming an instructor—no, even before that, during her time as a player—she'd seen plenty of players. Even A-rank players, unless they were exceptional, couldn't breach her ability so easily.
Yet a fresh newbie summoner's familiar had pierced her barrier just like that.
'Could he be a registered criminal?'
Myeong-suk closely observed Kim Min-su's expression. He seemed flustered by the knight's sword aura power too. Did he not know his familiar's strength? It was entirely possible for a newbie summoner. It didn't look like he was acting.
'Then, did he unleash full power without realizing it would be that strong? …For a summoning-type ability, that's plausible enough.'
Unlike players with ordinary abilities, a summoner's power depended entirely on their familiar. If the first summon was a dragon, it could wield its full draconic might. Even if the summoner had just awakened, the familiar itself wouldn't be a novice.
Thus, summoners grew by gaining more familiars, not by strengthening existing ones. Those who summoned dragons or wyrms early on quickly rose to world-class ranks.
'Maybe Korea's about to get one of those players.'
She'd never heard of a player summoning a knight like that. It looked modest compared to dragons or wyrms, but that sword aura alone matched top A-rank destructive power. If he could summon two, no, three of those knights? Korea would have an S-rank summoner on its hands.
Glance, glance.
'…This is awkward.'
The small incident was brushed aside, and training resumed. Following Min-su, other players stepped forward to demonstrate their abilities. But none breached the instructor's barrier.
The more this happened, the stranger the looks the other players gave Min-su. Even though he sat in the back row, people kept turning to stare.
'Did they think it'd be that strong?'
He'd had no chance to test the knight's power. It hadn't been long since creating it, and after that incident, he hadn't hunted in the Tower. All he'd done was train handling [Darkness].
The only real combat experience controlling the knight was once inside [Dark Lord]'s mental world, fighting a mysterious evil voice. Back then, the [Darkness] filling that world had entrusted everything to Min-su to protect its master. Thanks to that, he'd led a grand army of [Darkness] against the evil entity.
'Hundreds followed me then, right?'
Because of that memory—and the knights currently handling his housework—they had an image of mere grunts in his mind. Useful minions, at best? Yet even at full power, who knew a single sword aura could shatter an A-rank hunter's defense head-on?
Min-su was probably the most shocked person there. Maybe Knight No. 3 got too strong from sorting recyclables? Nah, the others being weak didn't make sense. Even he knew that was a stretch.
"That level of power… D-rank. I don't recommend above the 5th floor."
"Upper C-rank. You can safely challenge up to the 12th floor."
The instructor gave her opinions to the players who demonstrated after Min-su. These weren't official Player Agency ranks. It was a new part of the curriculum to prevent overconfident newbies from tackling floors beyond their level and meeting tragic ends.
Some retired players could objectively gauge others' strength. So the instructor assessed newbies' current power and suggested safe floors to build familiarity with their abilities and the Tower.
But she'd held off evaluating one player: Min-su.
'Player Kim Min-su… please stay after class. I need to talk to you separately.'
With that shocking summon power and what felt like special treatment, it was no wonder the others kept side-eyeing him.
'Shouldn't have told him to go all out.'
The stares made Min-su uncomfortable. Strictly speaking, his unique ability wasn't summoning knights. They were just an apostle power; his real ability was something else. Drawing attention like this risked exposing that.
'Why didn't Hyungnim warn me?'
He resented Idaine for not mentioning the knight's power. In truth, she hadn't known how to make knights from [Darkness], so she couldn't gauge their strength—but Min-su had no way of knowing that.
"…Was that your full-power attack?"
…?
Min-su looked up at the instructor's voice, different from before.
"Really, your full power…?"
There stood the smiling—but seemingly annoyed—instructor and a girl in front of her. The girl, wearing large headphones, silently nodded at the question.
"Sigh. Can't be helped. Player Shin Yu-bin's attack is lower D-rank. Until you're used to player activities, I recommend only the 1st and 2nd floors."
The girl nodded curtly and turned back.
'What was that? Hiding her power like me?'
Min-su had tried hiding but botched it, drawing more attention. This girl seemed different. The instructor's reaction suggested she hadn't gone all out.
'Should've done the same, even if it meant a scolding.'
Thud.
'…?'
The girl sat right next to him.
'Plenty of empty seats over there.'
Her natural action left him stunned.
'She interested in me?'
The thought every guy has around a girl—and usually wrong. But she'd chosen the seat right beside him when there were options.
'Looks high school age. I'm not quite there yet. Should I tell her she's too young? How to say it without hurting her….'
"Ajusshi."
Her first words shattered those thoughts.
"You're a god's apostle, right, ajusshi?"
A whisper just for him, inaudible to others. Min-su was startled but kept a straight face—too many shocks lately.
"…What're you talking about?"
"No use pretending. I'm an apostle too."
She's one too? Min-su scanned her up and down. Ordinary high school girl aside from the huge headset. Pretty, but not god-apostle impressive.
"My constellation told me. That power you just used? Divine power."
Ah, busted. Any god could tell at a glance that the [Darkness Knight] wasn't a player ability but [Dark Lord]'s authority.
Normally, gods couldn't see outside the Tower—only through apostles' eyes. Who'd expect a newbie apostle whose god was watching without mischief?
'Worst case.'
Hiding player abilities meant heavy punishment—laws from villain eras. Her quiet approach—was it to blackmail him? Others were glancing but unaware of their talk.
Min-su felt his blood run cold. How to handle this?
As he pondered, the girl spoke.
"My constellation has something to say."
Something to say?
[Golden Melody Performer] wants to make a request of you.